A new WBUR poll shows former Maine Gov. Angus King as the heavy favorite to replace retiring Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe. Current poll numbers have King, who is running as an independent, with 50 percent of likely voters, Maine Secretary of State, Republican Charlie Summers, with 23 percent and Democratic State Sen. Cynthia Dill with 9 percent.

King, who served as governor of the state from 1995 to 2003, benefits from a large advantage in name recognition and a 60 percent favorability. By comparison, 71 percent of voters did not offer an opinion of Dill and 57 percent did not rate Summers.

King is making no promises on which caucus he'd join in the Senate; we reported on Friday that he has told potential donors in D.C. not to give to his campaign if they need a promise on party allegiance. And there's no reason why King would shift in that position as long as he maintains a commanding lead in the polls.

In other news, the poll shows that a referendum legalizing gay marriage has more supporters than opponents at this point: 55 percent favor the measure, compared with 36 who oppose it. It was only in 2009 that a different Maine referendum blocked the legalization of same-sex marriage in the state.